Reborn
by Lord Mist
Summary: Oneshot. Yamato on a mission as an ANBU comes face to face with the ghosts of his past.


A lone ANBU sat on a tree, motionless. He had remained so for the last five hours, and he would probably continue to do so until the situation changed. He stared at his target through the constant rain. Mask skewed to one side, he let the pure water run down his face, enjoying one of the few pleasures ninja had. The rain almost wiped away his misgivings at what he was to do. The mission itself was simple - infiltrate one of Orochimaru's labs and destroy every living being in it, including any test subjects. Yamato - or Tenzo, as he was called when ANBU - wondered whether it was the gods who had a sick sense of humour or the Godaime. He shuddered. Sending him , of all people , a freak - a test subject himself, to destroy other people like him ? To rip their lives out of their body, and watch the light go out of their eyes ? For, he noted without immodesty, he was almost certain of accomplishing this mission. He was, after all, Konoha's best ANBU - possibly excepting the son of the White Fang who had now turned from an elegant killer into a chronically late, perverted Jounin-sensei.

Tenzo felt salt water run down his face. Was he crying ? He, the man ANBU had called " Wooden" both for his abilities and his demeanour ? He ? A small part of him told him it was all right to be disgusted by killing, but Tenzo shook away the feeling. He was a tool, dammit. The tool of Konoha, to be used in its purpose till he breaks. He sighed and returned to his watch, and his eye suddenly caught a glaring inconsistency. One of the guards on the north side of the concrete cube had stepped away into the woods, probably to answer Nature's call. The opportunity was too good to be missed. Snapping his mask back into place, he dispappeared in a swirl of leaves, re-appearing behind the Chuunin. The man never had a chance. Tenzo caught him in a _Wood Binding_, and before the man could cry out, crushed him. He stepped away from the corpse, burying it with a low-level Earth Technique to avoid detection, and stepped away into the daylight, _Henge'd_ to look like the dead guard.

The door guard called to him **" Password, Enishi. Just tell me the damn thing and I can go to sleep and let you take over."** Tenzo hesitated. He could have almost kicked himself, he had behaved like an idiot. Of course they would have had a password ! Making a snap decision, he let his face become blank and altered his _Henge_ to show wounds on his back. He slumped over, appearing to be unconscious, and the door guard rushed to him, checked his wound hurriedly, and called out to his companions **" Shit ! There's an intruder somewhere ! They've got Enishi. I'm taking him in to the Doctor, you patrol the area. Kill him, whoever he is."** The man draped a feigning Tenzo onto his shoulder and hurried in to the building. Tenzo slowly opened his eyes and got a good look at the area as he was taken along, memorising every facet of it in his mind for easy demolition. He appeared to swing his hands while unconscious due to the motion of his carrier, touching the wall, and sending in roots. Tenzo let a small grin appear on his face, and he knew the complex was doomed. His roots would burst out whenever he wished, smashing through the solid walls, causing the building to collapse in on itself. Now lay the job of destroying the test subjects, for Tenzo knew they would not be as fragile as to die from a building collapse. He merely hoped this "Doctor" was the same one who did the research.

Tenzo's hopes turned out to be correct. His first impression of the doctor was of a twisted mind. A small, bespectacled man, he seemed harmless until you looked over into the cruel yellow eyes. The Doctor spoke in the voice of an annoyed snake, with a low hiss. **" Well, Hidetada, what do you have to interrupt my research for this time ?"** The door guard, sweating, replied **" Doctor, there are intruders somewhere. They got Enishi. Fix him up, Doc, please ! "** Idly, Tenzo wondered if anyone actually knew the man's name, or everyone just called him "Doctor". The Doctor replied **" Oh, very well. Put him down over there."** Tenzo, as he was laid onto a stretcher, got a good view of the room. What he saw sickened him. Large glass cylinders were mounted on the wall, at least fifty, each with a baby floating around in green liquid. The Doctor moved closer to examine him. Tenzo knew his "wounds" would not stand up to closer examination, so rolling around quickly, he sent two sharp stakes of wood simultaneously into the doctor's neck and Hidetada's neck. While Hidetada collapsed, the Doctor merely coughed and wrenched the stake out.

Tenzo stared. The Doctor continued **" Well, well, well, what have we here ? A snake in the grass ?"** He swung his chakra scalpels at Tenzo, who ducked. Tenzo stabbed the Doctor again. He merely coughed and got up. The Doctor leered.**" I know not who you are, but you must be of Konoha. You weak, sentimental ANBU - how would you feel if you knew why I am getting up again and again ?"**

Tenzo let loose a barrage of shuriken, the huge wounds healed instantly on the Doctor's skin. **" Shall I tell you ?"** the Doctor continued.

Tenzo, indifferent, replied **" Do what you wish." **

The Doctor clapped. **' Oh, a strong, silent one, eh? Those are always the most sentimental under the facade. Have you noticed those vials ? Three of them have drained of liquid. Each time you "kill" me, you will be killing one of the babies in the vials. Will you still continue, oh nameless ANBU ?"**

Tenzo stopped as if stunned by a bomb. He was killing the innocent. Those babies could be himself. They could be him, experiencing pain throughout their tuny lives. He was killing himself, and if he wanted to defeat this madman, he would have to face the ghosts of his past fifty times. A medley of thoughts running through Tenzo's head, he was unable to dodge the next swipe, his right leg suddenly becoming useless. The Doctor said **" I thought not."** and leaped at his jugular. In desperation, Tenzo thrust up his hand. The Doctor slammed into a wooden wall and fell backwards. Tenzo inched away from the man. His years of ANBU paled beneath the heartlessness oof this monster. The Doctor, noting his far, walked closer, grinning. Tenzo hurriedly _Shunshin'ed_ to the far corner of the room.

He watched as the man closed in. A plan. He needed a plan. Yet, how could he fight him ? The Doctor would kill a child to save himself every time Tenzo killed him- Wait. That was it. Could the Doctor do- No, Tenzo had to test it first. His mind focused, Tenzo easily dodged the next set of swipes, and threw a shuriken so it cut the doctor's cheek, tearing it open. Yet the wound could not be called life threatening. With bated breath, Tenzo watched the vials. None of them drained. He had it.

Tenzo grinned, surprising the Doctor. Before the man could take another step, Tenzo smashed his jaw with a wicked right hook, throwing the man into the wall. Roots burst out of it, grabbed him and broke his wrists. The Doctor glared impotently. Tenzo explained **" I noticed that you can't use this technique to save yourself from non- life threatening wounds, Doctor. I can easily bind you up and take you to Konoha."** With a quick jutsu, he sent a message to the ANBU squad nearby to come in with some medics and clear the babies from the vials, letting him kill the Doctor. Tenzo relaxed on a chair, and heard footsteps. The door broke ope, and twelve Chuunin and two Jounin glared at Tenzo. He smiled.

It was a slaughter. At the end, Tenzo, having hardly broken a bead of sweat, sat back down at the chair, occasionally throwing glances at the Doctor.  
An hour later, he stood outside the building. The babies had been taken away, the Doctor killed. Now all that was left was to - he clapped his hands. The roots burst out, destroying the facilities.

He watched the medics care for the babies, anasthetising them and taking them to Konoha, where they would be wards of the Hokage until the extent of the research was shown. If they were sane - they would become ninja, like Tenzo. If they were not - Tenzo did not want to think about that. His minds drifting to the ANBU that had saved him when he was a baby. He silently told them _**" I've repaid my debt."**_ Privately, he added _and done it with a better success rate, too._

Tenzo walked away. Some days, it was good to be an ANBU.


End file.
